HALE WILLIAM BOLTON (AM. 1879-1920)

Hale William Bolton was a painter born in Fredericksburg, Iowa in 1879. He was the son of George W. Bolton and Alice Lucy Hale Bolton. The Boltons moved from Iowa to Stuttgart, Arkansas when Hale was nine years old; from Stuttgart, they moved to Honey Grove, Texas in 1896. By 1905, Hale Bolton was living in Oak Cliff. Bolton, who was a violinist, worked for the Jesse French Piano and Organ Company in Dallas from 1905-1908.

While earning his living as a piano tuner, Bolton also studied art with Frank Reaugh. Bolton exhibited in Nashville, Tennessee and won gold medals at the Tri-State Exhibition, Memphis, in 1907, 1910, and 1913. During the 1909-1910 academic year, Bolton studied at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts. From 1910 to 1913, Hale Bolton traveled to Europe and studied with Orowelt in Holland, as well as William Rueloup and Paul Abram in Paris.

Returning to Oak Cliff in 1914, Bolton was employed by the Dallas Piano Works, and entered exhibitions in both Dallas and Fort Worth. In 1915, Hale Bolton noted his occupations as “Artist”, for the first time; he also won a medal for a painting submitted for exhibition in Galveston, Texas.

In 1916, Bolton became a member of the American Federation of Arts, and moved to California. However, the following year, Bolton returned to Texas and lived with his parents. His paintings were shown at the Dallas Woman’s Forum in 1916 and 1918. Shortly before his untimely death, Hale Bolton was awarded a grand prize by the California Society of Art.

Bolton died at Rusk, Texas on October 10, 1920. With the death of Hale Botlon, Dallas lost one of its most promising young artists. His great talent was developed under the tutelage of the foremost masters in America and abroad. He studied with Frank Reaugh at the St. Louis Academy, and later with William Rueloup of France, in which country he spent many profitable years. Bolton painted and exhibited with much success on the Pacific Slope in addition to points in the East and Middle West.